1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to contracting between producers (such as farmers) and grain elevators, processors and end-use buyers (such as food companies). More particularly, though not exclusively, the present invention relates to method for electronically initiating and managing agricultural production contracts.
2. Problems in the Art
Typically, end-use buyers (for example, food processing companies) have contracted with grain producers to grow agricultural products (for example, high-oil corn varieties or other crops), often using seed from a number of seed firms. However, most forward contracting between end-use buyers and individual grain producers is labor-intensive and expensive.
At least one automated prior art system exists in the cotton trading industry. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,063,507 and 5,285,383 describe commodity trading systems having a centralized computer database including title information for bales of cotton. The systems are used for assigning and transferring title to the goods, and for assigning an electronic warehouse receipt to the goods. The essence of these prior art systems resides in electronic title for each bale of cotton. This is possible because cotton markets assign unique ownership and quality control information to each bale. However, the notion of “title” is irrelevant to the system of the present invention (described below).
Other prior art patents of interest include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,041, METHOD FOR RESTRICTING USER ASSESS RIGHTS ON THE INTERNET; U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,502, INTERNET-ENABLED PORTFOLIO MANAGER SYSTEM AND METHOD; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,451, METHOD FOR FULFILLING REQUESTS OF A WEB BROWSER.
Above mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,063,507, 5,285,383, 5,678,041, 5,706,502 and 5,701,451 are incorporated by reference herein.